Contextualizing the 2016 State Duma Election

What is it about?

As the first in a series of five articles in this edition of Russian Politics, it sets the 2016 Russian Parliamentary election (State Duma) into context. It begins by discussing the role of the Duma in Russian politics, and developments since the previous election. It then examines how institutional and political changes came together in the 2016 campaign to create a supermajority for the pro-Kremlin United Russia party is analyzed. Finally, it introduces the remaining articles in this Special Issue of 'Russian Politics - which examine the turnout, voting behavior, electoral manipulation and the future of the regime.

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Why is it important?

The 2016 State Duma election was a crucial test for the authorities, who faced accusations of electoral fraud and demonstrations after the 2011 parliamentary election. It was the first major nationwide election after Russia's incorporation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. In the event, a fairly uneventful campaign and a much lower turnout led to an election in which the pro-Kremlin United Russia party won a supermajority of seats, setting up a positive dynamic for the regime ahead of the 2018 presidential election